watts



W. 0. WATTS 8L J. W. MAXWELL. MeohanioalTelephone.

No. 237,712. Patented Feb. 15,1881.

Wihwmi/s/Wn/ l 7 1222/0210)? yum/;

NVFETEIS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER. Wnsmnm'ox. n 0.

' UNITED STATES PATENT Ormce.

WILLIAM O. WATTS AND JOSEPH W. MAXWELL, OF LOUISVILLE, KY.

MECHANICAL TELEPHONE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 237,712, dated February 15, 1881.

Application filed August 3, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we,WILLIAM O.WATTS and JOSEPH W. MAXWELL, of Louisville, county of Jefferson, and State of Kentucky, have invented certain Improvements in Telephones, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates, generally, to an improvement in mechanical telephones or telegraphs designed for the transmission of articulate and other sounds to distant points; and it consists of the means and appliances hereinafter described, which accomplish the object by collecting, focalizing, and delivering vibrations upon a metal wire, which conducts them to the distant points and delivers them by devices exactly similar to those by which they were received.

Our invention consists, first, in the combination, in a mechanical telephone or telegraph apparatus, of a hollow conical or funnel-shaped diaphragm and a sound conducting wire attached to andleadin g outwardly from its apex, as herein after more particularly described and explained; second, in the combination, in a mechanical telephone or telegraph apparatus, of two suitably supported hollow conical or funnel-shaped diaphragms with a wire extending outwardly from and connecting their apexes; third, in the combination of a diaphragm, a conducting-wire extending through said diaphragm and having a button or enlargement at its end, and a washer interposed between the button and the diaphragm, all as herein after more fully described and explain ed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a rear view of the sound collecting, transmitting, and delivery apparatus. Fig. 2 is a front view of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional view, showing a line-wire with one of our improved instruments connected to each end thereof.

A A are the sounding-boards; I), the circular openings in them. B B are the sound-developers; c, the conducting-wire; c, the buttons; d, the leather buffers, and 11 z the auxiliary tubes.

Of course the conducting-wire, when very long, must be supported at intermediate points to prevent sagging and swaying to and fro; but these are mechanical details which constitute no part of our invention.

The concave of each sound-developer is placed outward and is the front, and air-vibrations may be received in the concave of either and delivered from the concave of the other.

The wire 0 may be tightened and held taut by a device in the form of a common spool for thread having side bars attached to its flanges. To use it one end of the wire may be inserted through a hole in the stem or cylinder of the spool, and then the spool may be revolved until the wire is sufficiently taut, and then to hold it so another bar may be placed between these side bars and the wire itself.

Our theory of the operation of the parts of our improvement is that the material itself of the sounding-board, from its capacity of vibration, aids in producing the desired effect, and the form of the openings and the walls of the same have the like effect, and that the material of the sound-developer-sheep-skin, for instance-is quite important, on account of its hardness, smoothness of surface, and lightness, and its elasticity, and the protuberant or convex form is also highly important, as it serves to concentrate and focalize the vibrations together at about the same point on the wire, and has a similar effect upon the transmitted vibrations in delivering them to the ear of the bearer at the other end of the line with fidelity and distinctness. The funnel-shaped tubes ii, when used, will increase the efficiency of the other devices. They may be made longer or shorter than shown in the drawings, and their front ends may be flared more or less, as may be found desirable.

No extraneous force is used in the transmission of sounds by our apparatus, and we have found by repeated experiments that it will transmit several hundreds or thousands of feet not only articulated words with distinctness, but even the peculiarities of voice of the speaker, so that the voice may be recognized.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in a mechanical telephone or telegraph apparatus, of a hollow conical or funnel-shaped diaphragm and a soundconducting wire attached to and leading outwardly from its apex, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in a mechanical telephone or telegraph apparatus, of two suitablysaid button and diaphragm, substantially as supported hollow conical or funnel-shaped diaand for the purpose set forth. phragms, With'a'wire extending outwardlyfrom WM. 0. WATTS. and conneetlng their apexes snbstantlally as 5 described J. W. MAXWELL.

3. The combination of a diaphragm, a con- Witnesses: ducting-wire having a buttonor enlargement HENRY G. UNDERWooD,

at its end, and the washer interposed between ,R. M. BUCKLEY. 

